1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a protective padded sleeve for golf carts that provides protection from injury, added comfort to the riders, is capable of holding accessories and enhances the golf carts appearance. More specifically, the invention relates to a protective padded sleeve that comprises a sleeve, a fastener and padding, which is permanently placed over and around the hip restraint of a golf cart to prevent a rider from being injured when contacting the hip restraint or from protruding obstacles that could penetrate the large opening in the center of the hip restraint.
2. Description of Related Art
The sport of golf and recreational use of golf carts has developed into a billion dollar industry throughout the world. Currently, there are approximately 4,500 private golf courses with over 3.6 million golf carts and approximately 11,500 public and municipal courses with over 8 million golf carts in just the United States alone. A typical round of golf lasts approximately 4 hours, and players must navigate a golf course's approximate 4.5 mile length, which usually includes both hilly and rough terrain. As such, on most courses golf carts have become an essential part of the game. In addition, golf carts are now routinely used for transportation purposes at sporting events, hospitals, airports, national parks, college campuses, military bases and many businesses. In retirement communities, golf carts have become the primary means of transportation. The number of golf carts used for transportation in these other areas outside of golf is estimated to exceed 10 million.
As golf carts are used in more settings both on and off the golf course, the number of documented injuries has risen. According to an article in the July 2008 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, from 1990 until 2006, the injury rate rose more than 130 percent. During this period, nearly 150,000 golf cart-related injuries were recorded in people as young as 2 months and as old as 96 years. In a 2010 study and publication, according to the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC), there are approximately 15,000 golf cart related injuries requiring emergency room treatment in the US each year. Soft tissue damage and severe bruising accounted for 47.7% of all injuries. Contusions and abrasions were the most common diagnosis for the hip and lower extremity region. In addition to operating the cart, getting into or out of a cart was noted as one of the main causes of injury.
The current design of golf carts has evolved over the past ten years and the metal tubular arm rests on prior carts has been replaced with hard plastic hip restraints. These hip restraints now installed on both sides of the carts bench-style seat are irregularly shaped with an open center. These hip restraints serve multiple purposes. First, the hip restraints prevent riders from sliding off the bench-style seat. Second, in addition to the handle provided on the carts roof, these hip restraints serve as a handle when the passengers are entering or exiting the cart. Third, they serve to act as a handle for lifting the seat, for providing access to the battery compartment under the seat for maintenance of the golf cart.
The typical hip restraints on current golf carts are made of a solid one-piece forged hard plastic material in a substantially irregular, but generally triangular shape with an open center. The typical golf cart bench-style seat is approximately 39 inches wide, which makes it a very confining space for two average sized adult riders. This makes it very likely for the rider's hip and upper leg to be in constant contact with the hard plastic hip restraint during the normal operation of the golf cart. As evidenced by the annual number of injuries, this hard plastic hip restraint is both uncomfortable and is prone to cause bruising and contusions to a rider when entering or exiting the cart or during normal operation when turns are made or when the golf cart traverses over rough terrain. This can especially be a problem for people with a history of hip problems or older riders, which make up a large percentage of both golfers and residents in retirement communities where golf carts have become the primary means of transportation. In addition, the large opening in the center of the hip restraint allows for obstacles such as tree limbs to penetrate through the hip restraint and cause injury to the rider.
Many accessories have become an integral part of the game of golf such as balls, tees, brushes, markers, sun-glasses, and more recently GPS systems, wireless mobile devices, wireless devices for playing music, wireless speakers and other accessories that golfers like to have ready access to when they are either riding in the golf cart or outside of the cart looking for or preparing to hit their ball. Other users of carts also want to have easy access to important accessories they regularly carry. Although carts have an open area in the front interior for storing accessories, these storage areas have become insufficient in view of the ever-increasing number and types of accessories that are used on the golf course or in the many other uses of golf carts. These existing storage areas are especially inefficient for certain items that a golfer or other users of carts regularly use such as wireless communication devices and wireless speakers. In the carts front storage areas these type devices are hard to reach, exposed to significant shock and vibration and prone to damage or bouncing out of the cart when hitting bumps or rough terrain. Additionally, because rounds of golf generally take at least four hours, most players need or desire to have convenient and frequent access to their wireless communications devices. Current cart designs do not offer a convenient and safe place for all users of carts to keep these type devices and other valuable items that they would prefer to have in an easily accessible and secure place.
Most golf carts do not have any power source for accessories such as wireless communication devices, devices for playing music and wireless speakers, especially those at Private and Public Golf Courses. A power source is not typically provided in the golf cart due to the adverse effect it would have on the very expensive batteries that are used to power most golf carts. Due to the typical round of golf lasting approximately 4 hours it is desirable for golfers and other users of golf carts to have alternative back-up sources of power for these devices, so that while golfing or using the cart they do not lose the use of these devises due to loss of battery power. This is especially true with wireless communication devices that need to be available in case of an emergency or if a golf cart users profession is such that of a physician where they must be on-call 24 hours a day.
It is therefore desirable to have a protective padded sleeve that is permanently secured and completely covers and is tightly secured to the hip restraint. The protective padded sleeve has substantial firm padding on the exterior side to provide adequate protection for the riders hip and leg from obstacles protruding through the opening in the hip restraint and substantial foam-like padding on the interior and top side to provide cushioning for the passenger's hip, leg and arm for the purpose of eliminating injuries from contact with the hip restraint while also significantly improving the comfort of riding in a golf cart. The protective padded sleeve still allows the hip restraint to perform its other intended functions of serving as a handle for riders to grasp and as a handle for lifting the seat. The protective padded sleeve also integrates a back-up source of power for electronic devices, a wireless speaker for listening to music and a holder for storing accessories, which increases the space for carrying additional accessories in a golf cart.